Oh, Wise Ones- College in NJ, PA, Del area

<p>besides schools can I suggest he consider a brief bit of training in EMDR? sounds dopey when you read about it but can be a great tool for stress reduction. I helps so much to have a personal arsenal of tools rather than be forced, from the outside, to change course to avoid stressors.
I has some sessions here in NJ with a person who also works out of philly.</p>

<p>One of my daughter's best friends looked at schools in all areas of the east and settled on Misericordia in Dallas, PA, with a planned major in business admin or sports management. I don't know the young man's stats, but I've had him as a student and would guess around 1200 SAT, 3.2-3.5 GPA and he was admitted early action. I believe he hopes to play soccer.</p>

<p>any reason no-one's mentioned Albright in PA? My son with ADD is considering it, but I haven't seen much info on it anywhere? Anyone know anything about them?</p>

<p>Albright is a smaller college in Reading, PA. Reading is not much to write home about, so that could be why it might not make some lists. If it were located out in prettier rural setting, it might do better.
Overall, the campus seems fairly nice. Doing some construction projects to improve facilities. I think it has a good campus feel & seems like a tight knit community.
Don't know specifically about LD support or offerings.</p>

<p>I visited Albright with my first son. The facilities were a little dumpy, but it had a really good feel--I agree with irishbird.</p>

<p>It's less selective than some of the other comparable LAC's (Elizabethtown, Susquehanna, McDaniel) but not by a whole lot. We may have considered it more if we hadn't anticipated being full-pay.</p>

<p>Lehigh could also be an option. Good football but not at the size of a PSU. </p>

<p>Etown is a good choice for business (no football team) and small town atmosphere.</p>

<p>Another vote for Elizabethtown. My son had a wonderful experience there. It's small and friendly. Some nice recent additions on campus (beautiful student center). Good merit aid. Has consistently ranked high as a comprehensive college in the NE. S majored in computer science and felt department was strong , internships were readily available (his led to a full time job after graduation 2 years ago). Friends who majored in business, education, and engineering also had good experiences and have good jobs now.</p>

<p>laxmom, Post 28 says, "The original "plan" was that he would play DI football, but this year, as a hs junior, he learned that he can not handle the pressure of screaming varsity coaches and the whole "you have to win" culture. It was a huge shock to the whole family, since the path he was on was clearly to UDel or Lehigh etc for football. He is a wise young man with parents who have worked carefully to help him manage himself, and he makes good choices. He was getting lots of "tics" and anxiety until he told his football coach he couldn't play anymore. He wants a "real" college environment, but needs something smaller and manageable."</p>

<p>Since we are talking about a young man who does have some special issues, I strongly recommend, visits, even overnights so that he and the parents can get a better feel for whether the environment would give me a reasonable chance for success. Although this is optimal for all kids, most of them have a certain range for what is acceptable and even wonderful for them. But when you are talking about special needs, issues that some kids can brush off and tolerate, can be a real pitfall. Parents should also see how receptive the infrastructure of the school if for someone with these issues, and what resources are readily available.</p>

<p>Because there seems to be a disconnect between your nephew's GPA (3.8) and scores (1100), he is going to have to apply to a range of schools.</p>

<p>As others have mentioned, Fairleigh Dickinson would be a great safety school. Even though the NJ nickname "Fairly Ridiculous" continues to be uttered, its academics are getting stronger every year. The business program is good, and I think its graduate business program was actually ranked nationally. It has a nice campus, with professors and administrators who care, but the drawback is that about half the students commute. Those who live in the dorms tend to be the more serious students.</p>

<p>Someone also mentioned Albright. While the people on campus are EXTREMELY warm and friendly, the best students often transfer after a year or two. (I've known three who have done that.)</p>

<p>Lehigh is more selective/competitive than TCNJ, so I'm not sure that would be a good option if the signs point to TCNJ as being a reach. </p>

<p>Franklin & Marshall might be another school to consider. I don't know much about it myself, but I've heard good things about its business major and the school in general.</p>

<p>Have heard good things about Muhlenburg and Lafayette.</p>

<p>According to collegedata.com website the avg stats for Lafayette class of 2010 are:
Avg. GPA 3.76 unweighted 4.16 weighted
Avg. SAT 675 (M) 696 (CR) 706 (W)
Avg. ACT 29 </p>

<p>Muhlenberg is:
Avg. GPA 3.56 unweighted 4.02 weighted
Avg. SAT 640 (M) 666 (CR) 672 (W)
Avg. ACT 28 </p>

<p>Muhlenberg did have a reputation for highly favoring ED students and I think is SAT optional.</p>

<p>From what Momofwildchild is saying though, her nephew is looking for an affordable college. For that, he needs to be in the top of the stats pool so colleges in the next tier down with a good endowment might be a better choice. Otherwise he wouldn't be looking at Bloomsburg and Rowan. Am I right?</p>

<p>And to add to that, while Muhlenberg is SAT/ACT optional for admission, they require the SAT/ACT for merit scholarship consideration.</p>

<p>I think they would pay the money if there was a reason to- i.e. REALLY a better choice than Bloomsburg or TCNJ. He's a little overwhelmed with the process.
I may have made him out to be a little more special needs than he is. He's a pretty sharp kid, who manages himself well. He just needs to respect his disability and not get in over his head.</p>

<p>If they are willing to spend more on COA, I would really look at Susquehanna. It is small, caring, and seems close knit. It is probably not as costly as Muhlenberg, Lehigh etc. and it shouldn't be over his head. The only downside to Susquehanna is it is in a rural area, but I believe that Bloomsburg is too.</p>

<p>Although I now live out of state, I grew up in NC PA and still have many friends in the area. Susquehanna is a great school -- they have a good business school called Weis. We have a relative who is there now -- a freshman math major from NJ. She loves the school.</p>

<p>Lycoming in Williamsport is also a very nurturing school. Frank Girardi has been the football coach there forever. Nice guy. Maybe your nephew could try D3. Many people come to school from the NJ and Phila area and remain in Lycoming Cty after graduation. My son swims in Ohio with a kid from Evanston, Il whose brother went to Lycoming. His mother told me he graduated last year and did very well at the school. She said it was a perfect fit for her ADD son. It has a good business department. Many of the small businesses in the area are run by Susquehanna, Bucknell, and Lycoming graduates.</p>

<p>Bloomsburg is much different than Susquehanna or Lycoming -- It's about four times the size of either. The students are perhaps a little less academic.
Class sizes are larger. When I was growing up it was second only to PSU for business (within the state system). I don't think it still has that strong of a reputation since Pitt and IUP now have good programs and PSU has it's huge feeder system.</p>

<p>I have a cousin who is an administrator at Delaware Valley and another cousin who is a department chair at Misericordia. These are both small nurturing schools. PA is loaded with a variety of colleges. As someone has already mentioned, I'd start looking at the stats and then plan some visits with overnights to follow. I wouldn't give up playing football just because the HS coach is a jerk. If your nephew enjoys it, there are many D3 schools with good coaches who I am sure would love to have a kid with your nephew's talent.</p>

<p>Please feel free to email me if you have specific questions about the schools I mentioned.</p>

<p>As the previous posts indicate, the problem is not too few possiblities but too many. He needs to narrow things down beyond just a good small school--it is only on CC that he looks like anything but a real catch for the vast majority of colleges out there.</p>

<p>Just to throw one more into the mix--if he wants to be on the edge of a city, how about St. Joseph's? Great business school, terrific network in Philadelphia, and (if I read the website correctly) he would be eligible for about$7500 per year in merit money.</p>

<p>The young man is certainly a "catch" for any number of schools. The search is for LACs that are usually looking for males. He has above average test scores and grades. What we are seeking are schools that would be a "catch" for him. The two most important factors are supportive environment for his issues and affordabilty. The cost issue can be screened at home by using all sorts of resources such as websites, college guides, etc. The distance and size are also things that can be done "on paper". But the other very important factor which is a campus culture and facilites to give this a good chance of working out is what will take in depth investigation and thorough on site visits.</p>

<p>MOWC,
amwitowski is right, Bloomsburg has close to 8,000 students compared to about 2,000 for Susquehanna and 1,467 for Lycoming. My daughter and I looked at Susquehanna and we both really liked the campus. When it came down to appyling though, she didn't like the location. The town it's in is not really nice (not that it's bad, just not the cute college town she envisioned), and it's not close to any good size town either.</p>

<p>BTW, I'm still suggesting Lehigh Valley schools Moravian and DeSales. (!)</p>

<p>I have heard good things about Lycoming from a couple of people. A friends son was just accepted there. I've heard the campus is lovely. Business is the most popular major.
I would think he would also have a great chance at merit aid:
Freshmen
Financial Aid Applicants 330 (92.4%) of freshmen
Found to Have Financial Need 293 (88.8%) of applicants
Received Financial Aid 293 (100.0%) of applicants with financial need
Need Fully Met 50 (17.1%) of aid recipients
Average Percent of Need Met 76%
Average Award $18,277
Need-Based Gift Received by 293 (100.0%) of aid recipients, average amount $14,694
Need-Based Self-Help Received by 260 (88.7%) of aid recipients, average amount $4,059
Merit-Based Gift Received by 34 (11.6%) of aid recipients
Merit-Based Gift Received by 48 (13.4%) of freshmen without need, average amount $9,504
Athletic Award Not reported
Average Scholarship/Grant Package $18,277</p>

<p>KathieP - I did read Post #28 and still suggested Lehigh as a possible option since the football team is not as "large" as a Penn State, per se. If he doesn't want to play, the school is still a good one for the business program, with Lehigh being a smaller school of about 5,000 undergrads.</p>